A vaping specialist has announced plans to open 200 new stores across the UK in the next three years.

Vaporized, which is based in Edinburgh, plans to double its staff numbers to 1000 to support the expansion strategy.

It already has 100 stores around the country and plans to increase this to 300 by 2021.

The company said latest figures show there are almost three million people vaping in the UK and the market is growing rapidly.

Doug Mutter, director at Vaporized, said: “Vaping represents a huge public health opportunity and the market will continue to grow as increasing numbers of smokers recognise its effectiveness in helping people to quit smoking.

“To meet this growing demand, we are set to embark on significant organic and acquisitional growth that will see our store footprint rise to 300 by 2021.

“Consumer education is crucial, too, and we will be investing heavily in our people strategy to ensure our teams are equipped to help smokers understand the evidence-based public health opportunity of vaping products so that their positive impact can be maximised.”